Dagenham started their Regional 2 Anglia league season with a narrow 22-20 loss away to Brentwood. In a tightly-contested game, Dagenham had their first experience of Level 6 rugby and will be reassured by their performance. Playing downhill during the first half, the tone was set early with some big hits going in from both sides. Brentwood were the first to register points on the board, kicking over for a penalty for an early 3-0 lead. Dagenham soon levelled the scores however, a fantastic line by centre Earl Gorman saw him being hauled down just short of the line; a few phases later the Brentwood defence infringed and Tommy Cameron duly slotted the ball over the posts. Dagenham began to assert some dominance through their forward carries, offloading game and powerful scrum through the front row of Taylor, Duke and Davis. They were denied on the line on a couple of occasion by good Brentwood defence, who eventually managed to gain field position with their counter-kicking. This set the platform for Brentwood to retake the lead, with a good try from the line out. Dagenham responded quickly however, again breaking the line through captain Nat Farrell and back row Brad Retigan. Eventually, after a clean break by Farrell, the pass was transferred to Gorman to bury over in the corner. Cameron managed to slot the touchline conversion to bring the scores level at 10-10. Dagenham managed to take the lead just before the half ended, again strong work at the maul from the forward pack set the platform for Retigan to crash over from short range for a 10-15 halftime lead.

Brentwood started the second half the brighter, but resolute defence from Dagenham managed to repel several attacks. This was then followed by a fairly frenetic period, with both teams keeping the ball alive and counter-attacking; a great show for the spectators. The deadlock was broken by Dagenham, with Josh Groom providing the show-and-go to score. The conversion just drifted wide of the uprights, leaving the score at 10-20 to the D’s. Brentwood began to build back into the game, with some smart tactical kicking taking advantage of the hill to gain field position. Still, the Dagenham defence remained strong, however discipline started to suffer and eventually Brentwood scored a try in the corner after taking a quick tap from 5 metres out. Dagenham looked to be managing the lead well going into the final quarter, with good tactical kicking from Tommy Cameron and man-of-the-match Josh Cook. A small lapse in defensive concentration however allowed Brentwood to make a line break, and then good passing found the mismatch for the Brentwood centre to run in and score under the posts for an easy conversion, leaving the score at 22-20. Dagenham battled hard for the final 10 minutes, but struggled to regain field territory in the Brentwood half. Good defensive pressure from Brentwood kept the D’s contained until the final whistle, taking the 22-20 victory. Dagenham will rue some small errors at crucial times, reflecting the narrow margins at this level, but will take the positives of a losing bonus point away from home and a strong performance that they can build on into the season. Dagenham continue their campaign next week with a home game at Central Park against the travelling Stowmarket.